dletter:I'm either amused at how many guys get caught by this that have to be thinking at the time "Well, THIS one I'm sure is really a girl and not a police officer!"....

....or concerned that there are that many legit 13 year olds trying to get 35 year old guys over for sex that the cop raid ones are low enough of odds for these guys to take the chance.

Honestly, I think entrapment creates more of these people than are actually around.

There's all kinds of mental disorders you can fark you up in the head and make you susceptible to all kinds of shiat. Wet Brain, for example So take someone who's basically in dire need of hospitalization without knowing it, and then lean on them slowly. Say, start on a website like fark and reply to their comment. Then pretend to open up. (btw I'm in Indiana, too) Then you flatter them a bit, because maybe they made an intelligent and funny post like your own. Finally, you invite them to a private chat where anything is possible and get them all worked up somehow, then drop the bomb that you're actually underage but it's okay. Now a normal person wouldn't fall for even the first step, but someone with problems will fall hook, line, and sinker to the point where you could probably tell them "I am a cop and I will arrest you, but come over anyway." and they'd still show up.

That's what it usually is with "terrorists" and "dealers" the feds catch. There was that story last year where the FBI hired a guy who was legally retarded and gave him a job at a store they used as a front for fake heroin dealing or something. Then they made the sting they were after, but they sent him to jail, too, even though he didn't do anything but what federal agents told him to do. At no point was any of it really illegal, either. That's the quality of human being you get in law enforcement. It's all about the bust, even if you have to make the criminals first.

Real pedophiles, statistically, aren't looking for strangers online. It's the parents, the cousins, the family friends who you have to watch out for. And according to the news, female teachers; but I don't buy that as being a widespread problem so much as overpopulation combined with data mining. With more than 320,000,000 people to choose from, there's still only a few stories each year.

MrBallou:dletter: I'm either amused at how many guys get caught by this that have to be thinking at the time "Well, THIS one I'm sure is really a girl and not a police officer!"....

....or concerned that there are that many legit 13 year olds trying to get 35 year old guys over for sex that the cop raid ones are low enough of odds for these guys to take the chance.

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Yeah, this is about the level of mental deficiency it takes to be caught in a police sting.

Smart people, like Al Capone, are never caught for the crimes they may or may not have committed. The cops just have to invent shiat to take them down or skip the arrest and move straight to the drone strikes.

doglover:dletter: I'm either amused at how many guys get caught by this that have to be thinking at the time "Well, THIS one I'm sure is really a girl and not a police officer!"....

....or concerned that there are that many legit 13 year olds trying to get 35 year old guys over for sex that the cop raid ones are low enough of odds for these guys to take the chance.

Honestly, I think entrapment creates more of these people than are actually around.

There's all kinds of mental disorders you can fark you up in the head and make you susceptible to all kinds of shiat. Wet Brain, for example So take someone who's basically in dire need of hospitalization without knowing it, and then lean on them slowly. Say, start on a website like fark and reply to their comment. Then pretend to open up. (btw I'm in Indiana, too) Then you flatter them a bit, because maybe they made an intelligent and funny post like your own. Finally, you invite them to a private chat where anything is possible and get them all worked up somehow, then drop the bomb that you're actually underage but it's okay. Now a normal person wouldn't fall for even the first step, but someone with problems will fall hook, line, and sinker to the point where you could probably tell them "I am a cop and I will arrest you, but come over anyway." and they'd still show up.

That's what it usually is with "terrorists" and "dealers" the feds catch. There was that story last year where the FBI hired a guy who was legally retarded and gave him a job at a store they used as a front for fake heroin dealing or something. Then they made the sting they were after, but they sent him to jail, too, even though he didn't do anything but what federal agents told him to do. At no point was any of it really illegal, either. That's the quality of human being you get in law enforcement. It's all about the bust, even if you have to make the criminals first.

It's hard to believe that anyone would fall for "yes, giggles, im a 13 year old girl, and what i want more than anything is to fark a middle aged man". Facepalms. Seriously, if you're that dim witted to fall for that...you deserve to be in federal pound you in the ass prison. It's not like this sting has not been done a million times. But...they keep coming.

Before you accuse the police of entrapment, you should read the transcripts of the chats. There's no entrapment (in the vast majority of cases). They want a conviction, so they'll let the adult take the lead.

You guys don't automatically assume entrapment when cops arrest people stealing cars, so why would you assume that in these cases? I've read tons of these chat logs and seen only creeps who want to have sex with kids. No entrapment. Each one of them is told how old the "child" is.

I just disagree with them being able to bust the guys as soon as they show up. I don't think they should be able to say with 100% certainty that a crime would have been committed unless they wait for the guy to actually pull his pants off. At that time he's probably at the point of no return, but before that moment, he could have a change of heart, think about things, and say, "Sorry, kid. I can't do this. You should stay off the Internet and stop putting yourself at risk."

The moment they show up, though, they haven't done anything illegal. They've had an online chat with an ADULT pretending to be a minor. Intent does not equal committing a crime. If it did, we'd all be in jail for assault and battery (or worse) against Justin Bieber.

Take a drive over to WalMart and give that wall of disappeared kids a look-over. Note the ones who disappeared with some stranger they met online.

Now think, there's a far greater number of kids who meet a stranger online, invite them over, have sex (actually, get raped, since kids cannot legally give consent), and then never report the crime and instead suffer in silence thinking it was their fault for inviting a stranger over and promising sex.

Oh, and by the way subby, none of these guys appears to be a pedophile. They all seem to be ephebophiles. The youngest fake teen was still pretending to be a teen (13), and strictly speaking, "pedophile" describes those who are wrongly attracted to pre-pubescent children.

Cerebral Ballsy:Take a drive over to WalMart and give that wall of disappeared kids a look-over. Note the ones who disappeared with some stranger they met online.

Now think, there's a far greater number of kids who meet a stranger online, invite them over, have sex (actually, get raped, since kids cannot legally give consent), and then never report the crime and instead suffer in silence thinking it was their fault for inviting a stranger over and promising sex.

Actually, most of those kids appear to be runaways. Many of them were about 17 when they split, too.

Another large chunk of the missing kids are clearly those who were swiped in a custody battle.

Nix Nightbird:I just disagree with them being able to bust the guys as soon as they show up. I don't think they should be able to say with 100% certainty that a crime would have been committed unless they wait for the guy to actually pull his pants off. At that time he's probably at the point of no return, but before that moment, he could have a change of heart, think about things, and say, "Sorry, kid. I can't do this. You should stay off the Internet and stop putting yourself at risk."

The moment they show up, though, they haven't done anything illegal. They've had an online chat with an ADULT pretending to be a minor. Intent does not equal committing a crime. If it did, we'd all be in jail for assault and battery (or worse) against Justin Bieber.

Who says they haven't done anything illegal when they show up.. You? Did you read the article and see what the people were charged with? Those are the laws the people broke (allegedly).

Just an odd question; Why were only a couple vehicles seized and the rest not? If drugs were involved I would get it, but they were not in either of the seizure cases, and there was not seizure where drugs were present. Are they just grabbing the ones with resale value again?

Nix Nightbird:I just disagree with them being able to bust the guys as soon as they show up. I don't think they should be able to say with 100% certainty that a crime would have been committed unless they wait for the guy to actually pull his pants off. At that time he's probably at the point of no return, but before that moment, he could have a change of heart, think about things, and say, "Sorry, kid. I can't do this. You should stay off the Internet and stop putting yourself at risk."

The moment they show up, though, they haven't done anything illegal. They've had an online chat with an ADULT pretending to be a minor. Intent does not equal committing a crime. If it did, we'd all be in jail for assault and battery (or worse) against Justin Bieber.

At what point do they decide that a crime would've been committed, though? Your suggestion of waiting for them to take off their pants doesn't imply they would've gone through with it either. Besides, how do you get them to take their pants off in the first place?

That "Catch a Predator" show actually had an actress who looked and sounded about 14-15 who was in on the sting. The guys all saw her and interacted with her, then she'd step into a room and then Chris Hansen would do his "have a seat over there" bit. At the point that they saw the girl who both looked and said she was underage and then didn't leave is about as close to committing the act without going through with it.

Nix Nightbird:Cerebral Ballsy: Take a drive over to WalMart and give that wall of disappeared kids a look-over. Note the ones who disappeared with some stranger they met online.

Now think, there's a far greater number of kids who meet a stranger online, invite them over, have sex (actually, get raped, since kids cannot legally give consent), and then never report the crime and instead suffer in silence thinking it was their fault for inviting a stranger over and promising sex.

Actually, most of those kids appear to be runaways. Many of them were about 17 when they split, too.

Another large chunk of the missing kids are clearly those who were swiped in a custody battle.

Nix Nightbird:Cerebral Ballsy: Take a drive over to WalMart and give that wall of disappeared kids a look-over. Note the ones who disappeared with some stranger they met online.

Now think, there's a far greater number of kids who meet a stranger online, invite them over, have sex (actually, get raped, since kids cannot legally give consent), and then never report the crime and instead suffer in silence thinking it was their fault for inviting a stranger over and promising sex.

Actually, most of those kids appear to be runaways. Many of them were about 17 when they split, too.

Another large chunk of the missing kids are clearly those who were swiped in a custody battle.

Read the little descriptions.. You'll always find some that ran away with some creep. Sadly, lots of those kids have been abused before, too an might even be running from abuse in the house.

I read this article earlier today because I live here in Orlando. I didn't look at all the ages of the "bait kids" but I did notice one guy confessed to being in negotiations with a mom to have sex with her 7 year old daughter! And they tracked down the mom on that too, and charged her with selling her child for sex.

I agree though that the 16 year old bait is a little iffy, but these kids do get kidnapped sometimes by strangers.

Since pedophilia has been shown to be a biological orientation, this way of treating it will never work in the long run. It isn't as if there are a limited number of people who have pedophilia. People who have pedophilia are born every day. There are programs in Canada and Germany that reach out to people with pedophilia to get help before the commit a crime (free, confidential therapy). A problem in the US is that people think they will be convicted for something just by talking to a mental health worker (which is not the case, but it's a misconception).

Ivan the Tolerable: Just an odd question; Why were only a couple vehicles seized and the rest not? If drugs were involved I would get it, but they were not in either of the seizure cases, and there was not seizure where drugs were present. Are they just grabbing the ones with resale value again?

Le me reiterate: 16 year old bait is iffy because of varying state consent laws. Not everyone who moves to Florida reads up on consent law once they move here. I feel much more comfortable with bait kids being prepubescent (for pedophiles) or at least under 15 (for ephebophiles).

You seem to be saying that it might be okay for an adult to have sex with a 16 year old? Are you serious? A twenty-five year old man, or thirty or forty year old man and you are cool with them having sex with a 16 year old?

Cerebral Ballsy:Le me reiterate: 16 year old bait is iffy because of varying state consent laws. Not everyone who moves to Florida reads up on consent law once they move here. I feel much more comfortable with bait kids being prepubescent (for pedophiles) or at least under 15 (for ephebophiles).

miss diminutive:Nix Nightbird: I just disagree with them being able to bust the guys as soon as they show up. I don't think they should be able to say with 100% certainty that a crime would have been committed unless they wait for the guy to actually pull his pants off. At that time he's probably at the point of no return, but before that moment, he could have a change of heart, think about things, and say, "Sorry, kid. I can't do this. You should stay off the Internet and stop putting yourself at risk."

The moment they show up, though, they haven't done anything illegal. They've had an online chat with an ADULT pretending to be a minor. Intent does not equal committing a crime. If it did, we'd all be in jail for assault and battery (or worse) against Justin Bieber.

At what point do they decide that a crime would've been committed, though? Your suggestion of waiting for them to take off their pants doesn't imply they would've gone through with it either. Besides, how do you get them to take their pants off in the first place?

That "Catch a Predator" show actually had an actress who looked and sounded about 14-15 who was in on the sting. The guys all saw her and interacted with her, then she'd step into a room and then Chris Hansen would do his "have a seat over there" bit. At the point that they saw the girl who both looked and said she was underage and then didn't leave is about as close to committing the act without going through with it.

But here, they had no girl. Here, they busted the guys when they pulled into the driveway.

So who's to say they would have gone through with anything? Maybe one of these guys would have been guilt-ridden and walked away without doing anything wrong.

I think "pants around ankles" is a good indication that a rape might occur. Until then, it's just intention (or maybe even nervous consideration) and hasn't harmed anyone yet.

It's a step away from thought-crime. It doesn't seem right to me to grab them the moment they show up. You have to give people a chance to work things out and commit or not commit to an action, and I don't think driving to a house is enough. I think getting (even partially) naked is the point when you can say a crime was actually committed.

jwa007:Cerebral Ballsy: I agree though that the 16 year old bait is a little iffy,

You seem to be saying that it might be okay for an adult to have sex with a 16 year old? Are you serious? A twenty-five year old man, or thirty or forty year old man and you are cool with them having sex with a 16 year old?

Really?

In my opinion, we shouldn't have "incremental responsibility laws" based on age. If we have said that 16 should be the legal age to drive, that should be the hard-line cut-off point for everything else as well. Enlisting in the armed forces, signing forms, renting a hotel room or vehicle, no statutory rape laws, drink alcohol, smoke etc. If you can legally drive a vehicle by yourself, then you are an adult in my opinion. You are entrusted with the lives of your passengers and anyone on the road.

As far as maturity goes, are 16 year olds mature? Fark no, but then again neither are 18 year olds or every most 20 year olds.